David Bowie had already become the first person to reach number one with a reissue of a previous Top 10 hit ("Space Oddity"), then a few years later he made the achievement even more unique by also reaching number one with this continuing saga of Major Tom.
Apparently never charted in the US. I know this is the first time I've heard this.
According to Wikipedia it very narrowly missed the Hot 100. I find that hard to understand because Bowie had been as successful in the US as he had in the UK during the second half of the 1970s ("Fame" got to number one in the US and "Golden Years" stayed on the US chart twice as long as it did in the UK). So what the heck happened with "Ashes To Ashes"? How could such a big hit in the UK be such a flop in the US?
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Could the lack of this song's success in America have something to do with culture? Often what appeals to a British audience will not appeal to an American one, as it will affect them differently,they might not have related to it and also the British have a totally different sense of humor.
David Bowie's earlier Major Tom song ("Space Oddity") charted in America for a start, although its success there was in between its two separate chart runs in the UK. Now, looking at some of the songs that reached number one in the UK in 1980, four of them also topped the US charts and eight others reached the US Top 40. In addition to the transatlantic number ones, 11 more of that year's US chart toppers also reached the UK Top 40, so there was a mighty big overlap between the two countries when it came to popular songs. In other words, the hits in one country that flopped in the other were in the minority, and one would not expect a classic Bowie song to fall into that category.
Looked up google to find out about how "ashes to ashes" was received in America,could not find anything, but QUORA has a lots of interesting information on Davis Bowie and his music.
My favorite song.
That's a good one, Rose. :)
Here is the song that made me a Bowie fan. Live Aid had many awesome performances, but this was one of the highlights for me.
I think you posted that video before. I know someone did, I'm 99% sure it was you. I knew what the song was going to be before I clicked on the video link. Lol:)
